The Chicago Bears President, Kevin Warren, appeared on the Sunday Night Football broadcast on Fox for a segment at the start of the second quarter. Warren was asked about the demands of the Bears fans about keeping the franchise in Chicago amid plans to move it out to Arlington Heights, in suburban Illinois.
Chicago Bears Olamide Zaccheaus celebrates his touchdown reception against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field.(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
However, the response given by Warren seemed to surprise the Chicago fans. Instead of addressing the demands, Warren seemed to reassert their plans to move the Bears out of Chicago. “Arlington Heights is in Cook County,” Warren simply said, seemingly ignoring the crux of the question.
“How important it is to you guys at the organization to keep the future home of the Bears at Chicago,” Greg Olsen asked Warren on the FOX broadcast.
“Well, Chicago and Arlington Heights is in Cook County- we’re in the same county,” Warren said.” It’s important for us to work this out. But it looks like it will afford us the opportunity for everyone in the great state of Illinois to benefit from it.”
The Bears’ plans to move out of Soldier Field to Arlington Heights have been in motion for nearly four years now, with the purchase of the land being completed in February 2023, for $197.2 million. However, that decision backfired as fans demanded the franchise be kept in Chicago. The backlash prompted the Bears to announce a $4.7 billion stadium near Soldier Field on the Museum Campus.
But that plan fell through in April 2024 as the Bears could not gather legislative support for the move. Since then, the Bears have been pushing hard towards the move to Arlington Heights. However, the fan opposition to it has persisted.
The Kevin Warren interview was described as “awkward” and slammed by many on social media. Leading the charge were some of the longtime Bears reporters.
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“Bears have taken their PR campaign for a new stadium to national television now,” Bears reporter Brad Biggs wrote on X.
“New spin from Bears boss: How important is it for the bears to be in Chicago?” Kevin Warren: ‘Well, Arlington Heights is in Cook County…'” Ben Bradley of WGN News said.
Arlington Heights is about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of downtown Chicago’s lakefront where Soldier Field and the Museum Campus are located.